THE third and final series of Broadchurch returned on Monday night and gave ITV its biggest drama audience since Downton Abbey ended in 2015.
The first episode drew in 7.5 million viewers which not only won the 9pm time slot but gave the channel 34 per cent of the audience share.
The final episode of Downton Abbey, which aired on Christmas Day 2015, drew in 6.6 million.
Broadchurch fans were eagerly-awaiting the return of the award-winning drama which stars David Tennant and Olivia Colman.
This time the detectives are back to investigate the brutal rape of a local woman called Trish Winterman, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh.
It followed on from the explosive second series which aired in January 2015 and focused on the fallout after the discovery of who killed 11-year-old Danny Miller and the murder trial that followed.
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At its peak it pulled in 9.7million viewers and was greenlit for a third and final series at the show’s end.
The attack on Trish took place at her friend’s 50th birthday party and DI Alec Hardy and DS Ellie Miller are now faced with the task of interviewing all 80-odd partygoers.
A trailer for next Monday’s episode has already been released and shows DI Hardy and DS Miller working on the case.
DI Hardy can be seen addressing a room full of police officers providing details of Trish’s brutal assault.
This series also stars Charlie Higson as Trish’s estranged husband, Sarah Parish as Trish’s friend Cath Atwood, Mark Bazeley as her husband Jim and Lenny Henry as Trish and Catch’s boss Ed Burnett.
Hesmondhalgh, who is best known for playing Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, won praise from viewers for her harrowing but powerful acting in the role of Trish.
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